Never Judge A Book By Its Cover
by LostGirlsofStarsHollow
Summary: A fews day after Dean broke up with Rory at the dance marathon.He's trying to stay as strong as steel,but he's aching inside for Rory.Then Shane shows up at the town gazebo and Dean begins to see Rory in a whole new light.
1. Chapter 1

**** Never Judge a Book By Its Cover ****

**Genre**: Drama  
**Pairings**: Dean/Shane  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: _Rory, Dean, Shane and Jess and all other recognizable "Gilmore Girls" characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, and the WB. There is no profit from the copyrighted characters or infringement intended._

Dean took a sip of coke as he sat in the Stars Hollow gazebo and tried not to think about his break up with Rory. It was his first day of work at Doose's market since his breakup with Rory at the dance marathon and he was sure the customers were going to be gawking at him and taking her side, as usual, so he needed a little time to himself to get ready before he walked into the snake pit.

"Dean!"

He grimaced, it was starting already. He turned and looked across his shoulder and saw someone he was not expecting to see at all. It was Shane!

"Hey, Shane, you doin' alright?" Dean asked. He truly felt bad for her. It had been so obvious to him at the dance that Jess was just using her to make Rory jealous and obviously his devious plan had worked because Rory had fallen for it hook, line and sinker.

"Better, now that I'm not with that loser, Jess and knowing Rory's stuck with him now."

Dean laughed and asked Shane to join him. This was just the therapy he needed before he went to work so he was glad she was there with him.

"That's a pretty healthy outlook. I wish I could get to the point where I felt the same about Rory," he admitted.

"What are you talking about? Rory was damn lucky she got a stud like you!"

"What?" Dean asked chuckling, he appreciated Shane trying to make him feel better, but he thought her approach was pretty transparent.

"Oh, wise up, Dean. Rory was a big, fat loser at Stars Hollow High. The guys thought she was weird with a capital 'W'. She never talked to anybody, she always had her head stuck in a book. The only friend she had at school was Lane."

"Well, she was trying to trying to get into a private school; she wants to go to Harvard when she graduates," Dean replied, reluctantly coming to Rory's defense.

"No, Dean, she was weird. The girl couldn't carry on a normal conversation to save her life. Also, I'll admit she's kind of pretty now, but she used to be a major Plain Jane. I went to school in another district until Stars Hollow High so I didn't know her then, but my guy friends who went to school with her when she was in middle school told me she looked like Macauley Caulkin in drag. They used to call her MacRory Caulkin and … Home Alone."

Dean didn't know whether to laugh or feel bad for Rory. It sounded like he had rescued her from a pretty awful adolescence.

"Hey, Dean. I'm sorry, you must think I'm awful, but I thought you needed to know these things about Rory to help you understand the reasons for the crappy way she treated you."

"I'm not following you, Shane."

"Don't you get it? The girl had zero confidence in herself as far as guys went before she met you. When you started going out with her, instead of the dim wit being damn grateful like she should have been, she suddenly thought she was a super stud and when Jess came along, she thought she was the babe of the century because she had two guys that liked her. Truth is, Jess probably wouldn't have even paid her that much attention, but being with a hottie like you gave her so much confidence that he really noticed her."

"You think so?"

"Believe me, I know so. I am so sure that if she hadn't gone to that fancy pants school in Hartford and you and Jess had been going to school with her all along, instead of transferring in from Chicago and New York, neither one of you would have thought she was that big a deal."

"Well, I know one thing…

"What?"

"If the bitch gets in my face again, _I'll_ be calling her MacRory Caulkin," he laughed. "Can you believe she came to my house last night, climbed a tree, got on my roof and tapped on my window to tell me she was sorry for what she did, only to follow that up to tell me she used to love me and that I was really was a good boyfriend? I already know that I was a good boyfriend and as for her saying she loved me – what a joke. She has no idea what that word even means."

"Lame. It sounds like she was trying to get you to apologize to her for her feeling guilty about being such an idiot. Don't worry, Dean, she thinks Jess is a prize, but he is such a major loser, she is going to regret not having you big time by the time it's over. I hope you aren't stupid enough to be there to pick up the pieces when that happens or she'll never learn her lesson."

"What about you? Did you learn your lesson about being with a jerk like Jess?"

"There really wasn't a lesson to learn, Dean. I was just passing time with him. My true love lives in Florida."

"But what would he say if he knew you were with Jess?"

"His family moved to Florida a year ago. We had an agreement that we'd see other people, but that we'd save ourselves for each other."

"You're a ?"

"Virgin? Yes, I know it's hard to believe, Dean, but I _am_ one of those. Never judge a book by its cover, Dean, that's how you got sucked in by Rory's act and look what that led to."

"You're right, Shane. I'm sorry. I have to get to work now, but I'd love to hang out with you again, sometime. I have my own phone line at home and my number's in the book if you want to call and get together."

"That'd be great. I'd love to have you for a friend and I think I could help you work through this Rory, Jess stupid thing. Also … just so you know, there are a ton of girls at school who are going to be way glad when they hear you're a single man, some of them are really good friends of mine, so anytime you're ready, I'll be happy to set you up with them."

"Thanks, Shane. I'll let you know when that is."

"No problem, see ya later, Dean."

"See ya, Shane."

Dean took a last sip of Coke and absorbed his conversation with Shane, finally getting it that he had other options in his life besides Rory and he was grateful to Shane that she had made him realize that Rory had been a shy, awkward, social loser before they'd met and not the super together woman he had built her up to be in his mind. It made the pain of losing her a little easier. Rory was only a human being and she could be replaced.


	2. Chapter 2

**** Never Judge a Book By Its Cover ***

**- Chapter Two -**

It was two weeks after Dean's conversation with Shane. He entered the crowded school cafeteria, and noticed Shane was sitting alone. He hadn't spoken to her much since their last conversation, and was surprised that she was by herself, usually she had one or two girl friends with her. Dean decided to join her.

Dean walked through the rows of tables and chairs, till he reached Shane, and slipped beside her.

Shane looked up and smiled weakly at Dean,"Hey."

Dean looked at her, he could see her lip trembling, and the smile she was forcing, so he just had to ask her what was wrong.

"My so called 'true love' in Florida decided that our arrangement would not work. I guess it was the tall blonde, surfer chick he started going out with. His sister had the decency to call me and tell me why he was blowing off my calls."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Shane, I am sure you'll have no problem finding another guy to go out with, though."

"Yeah, right, Dean, you know about the preconceived reputation I have now, thanks to hanging out with Jess. He is a sleaze and how many guys want to date a girl that sort of got dumped by a sleaze? I guess this has been my month for getting dumped."

Dean wanted to say some comforting words. She had comforted him when he was down, but the bell rang, ending the second lunch period.

Shane stood up and gathered her books, "Take care Dean, I'll see you around."

"See ya, Shane," Dean replied as he watched her walk away. He knew exactly how alone she felt at this moment.

School had ended for the day and Shane was walking down the front steps of school with one of her girlfriends when she spotted Dean sitting at the bottom of the steps.

"Hey, Dean, what are you waiting for?"

"You."

"Why?"

Dean reached over and took her books, "I want to walk you home."

"Dean, you live in the opposite direction."

"So what? Just take my arm and let's go."

Dean and Shane strode through the exiting throng of students, noticing the glances and stares as they sliced through the crowd.

They walked mostly in silence through the autumn afternoon. When they got to Shane's house, she turned to him, and asked him, "Why did you do want to walk me home, Dean?"

"Why not? You're nice, and friendly. I enjoy talking to you, and above all, you're honest."

Shane looked at the tall boy in front of her, "She was nuts, you know that don't you?"

Dean scratched his ear, "Why do you say that?"

"She was, trust me."

"Shane, thanks for letting me walk you home. I have to get to work; I'll see you in school tomorrow." With that said, Dean took off at a long, easy lope to make it to Doose's market for his shift.

Shane looked at his rapidly distancing form and thought to herself, _He is so gorgeous. I wish he'd see me as more than a friend._

Dean arrived at Doose's market, and had to listen Taylor berate him for being five minutes late. Taylor called him irresponsible. Dean thought to himself, if he did not need the job to help out with his family's bills, he would tell Taylor to shove the job up his ass.

He took a deep breath and got ready for the firing line. He knew he was going to have listen to another round today of the town gossipers saying things like, _Oh, he is the guy Rory dumped, _along with someone commenting,_ I heard he was not too smart,and that is why she dumped him for Jess _or someone else saying,_ At least Jess could read, even though he was a surly ass. _The ironic thing was that when he first met Rory he had already read every book she had on her to read list. He even gave up football because Taylor would not work with him on a schedule.

About an hour later, Dean had to listen to the biggest town gossip of all, as heard Miss Patty's phony voice saying,"Oh, did you hear that the bag boy, Rory dumped, walked that Shane girl, who used to go out with Luke's nephew, Jess, home today?" And then Miss Patty went on to discuss her opinion of Shane's morals to her very attentive audience.

The next afternoon, Dean walked into the cafeteria to meet Shane. Ever since that first time they made it a point to meet every day for lunch. It had been going on for three weeks now. Dean found her funny, with a wry sense of humor, A girl, who made no pretense of being super smart, but could talk on any subject that came up in their conversations.

Shane looked up and smiled at Dean when he sat next to her, "What's new today, Bag Boy?"

Dean laughed, when she said it, he did not mind. "You know something, Shane? We are like two goldfish in a bowl. Everything we do turns into gossip. It seems like everyone is looking at us all the time."

Shane, laughed, "Yep I know it."

Dean loved her laugh, it was not the delicate laugh Rory had, Shane's was loud and full of joy and he loved watching her eyes as she laughed. He could see how they sparkled.

"Shane, you see Lane sitting there?"

"Yeah,".Shane replied and looked over at Lane, who was pretending to read a book, but was actually looking at them.

"You know everything I do and everything I say is reported back to Rory."

Shane smiled, "You know, Dean, we should really give her something to report back."

"Such as?"

With that, Shane put her arms around Dean's neck and drew him in and put her lips on to his.

Dean was shocked, but he did not draw away from the kiss. It was electric, it was sensual. It was beautiful. Dean responded to the kiss. He did not want to stop.

After a moment, a cafeteria monitor tapped him on the shoulder and told them to break it up. They were in a cafeteria not a motel.

Shane looked over at Lane. Lane's mouth was hanging open, she made no pretense of not staring at them. "Hey Lane," she called out, "did you get all of that?" and laughed.

Dean waited for Shane after school. When she came down the steps he took her hand and said, "Let's go."

Shane smiled up at him. "Okay let's go," and they walked away from the school hand in hand amid stares and whispers.

"Shane, why did you kiss me?"

"Oh come on, Dean, didn't we want to give Lane something to talk about?"

"True, but Shane, how did you feel kissing me?"

Shane thought she was in heaven when she kissed him, said, "It felt ok, it was a good kiss."

"Just a good kiss?"

"Well, yeah, maybe a bit better than good."

Dean stopped and turned to face her still holding her hand. "I had hoped it was a bit better than good. I really like you. Would you like to go to a movie tomorrow?"

Shane's heart missed a beat. "That would be good Dean, I would really enjoy that."

They arrived at Shane's house and Dean asked if she wanted to catch the 2pm show and they could get something to eat afterwards.

"Sounds like a good plan to me, Bag Boy."

Dean bent down to kiss her goodbye and Shane turned her cheek. What she really wanted to do was drag him inside and make out for a couple of hours. How could Rory break up with this handsome, gracious, polite man? The girl was nuts!

Dean headed to Doose's market, not caring if he was late or not. He wondered why Shane had shied away from him just now after she had given him the kiss of his life in the cafeteria. No kiss with Rory was ever like the one he had with Shane. Some day maybe, he would be able to figure out women.

Dean arrived at the market, Taylor and started in on him again. He just looked at him, and said. "Can it Taylor, I am not in the mood for your crap today." He knew Taylor would not fire him, he turned out more work than any other two of Taylor's stock boys.

Dean was in the back of the store stocking shelves when he heard the irritating voice of Miss Patty going on about her usual gossip, then he heard, "Oh, the bag boy, Rory dumped, was kissing Jess's old girlfriend Shane in the school cafeteria today. I heard he had his hand up her blouse and her hand was in his _lap_."

Dean wondered how she knew this. She must have spies all over town.

"Miss Patty!" he said loudly."

She turned from the small audience she was relating the tale to, "What can I do for you Dean?"

"Look, if you're going to tell the story, you should really get your facts straight. Shane is a lady and not a slut, like you just implied. Plus my business is none of yours, and in the future you _will_ keep your big fat mouth shut when it involves me. Anyway, even according to you, you slept with half of Broadway, so who is the slut? You are, slut!"

With that said, Dean ripped off his green Doose's apron and threw it in the middle of the same aisle where Rory had "shoplifted" the corn starch the first time he'd kissed her. "You all can kiss my ass!" and he stormed away from the shocked Taylor, Miss Patty and the rest of the simple-minded town folk.

Dean arrived at Shane's house promptly at one thirty for their movie date. When he knocked on the door, it was answered by a very attractive blonde woman, who introduced herself as Allison, Shane's Mother.

Allison then invited Dean to the living room, and offered him some lemonade, which he accepted. Allison gently quizzed Dean on school and how he felt about leaving Chicago. He noticed how this gracious woman worked to put him at ease. With Rory's mother, he always felt slightly uncomfortable to the point he wondered if he was good enough to date her daughter.

Shane came down the stair case. Her platinum blond hair was up in a sporty pony tail, and she wore a pair of faded blue jeans that really flattered her figure, along with a soft, baby doll pink pull over sweater. She was gorgeous. In fact, she was the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen. Dean wondered how she managed to look so beautiful when she dressed so simply.

Dean stood there with his mouth open.

Shane laughed that laugh of hers and said, "Come on, Bag Boy, let's go."

Shane's mother smiled at him warmly and told them to have a good time.

As soon as they got on the sidewalk, Shane took Dean's arm and looked up at him. "Dean, are you okay?"

"Sure, why?"

"I heard what happened at Doose's market."

Dean looked skyward. "Can't anything happen in this town without it being common knowledge ten minutes later? What did your mother say?"

Shane laughed that beautiful laugh of hers that made Dean's heart melt. "She said it was about time someone told that whale off."

After the movie was over, they strolled through the town square and headed towards Luke's for a burger and some fries. They turned the corner and saw Lorelai Gilmore walking towards them. Dean stopped walking and put his arm around Shane so Lorelai would have no doubt that he was dating someone new, in hopes that it would get back to Rory. "Hi Lorelai, how are you doing?"

Lorelai looked at them and instantly recalled her dislike for Shane, simply because Rory had hated her so much when she was dating Jess, so she decided to insult her indirectly, "Well, Dean, I guess you peaked in the dating world when you were seeing my daughter. Looks like you've disembarked from the ski lift and you're doing the downhill slalom at record speed," she remarked in catty, Lorelai-like fashion.

Dean muttered under his breath, "That bitch!"

Shane looked up at Dean, "You got that right, look at how she treats Luke. Luke is in love with her, and all she does is use him. Where do you think Rory gets her imperious attitude from? For some reason, Jess seemed more interesting than you, so she just basically dumped you. That is what Lorelai does with her boyfriends, but for some reason she is treated like a queen in this town."

Shane and Dean walked into Luke's diner and took a seat by the door. They noticed Rory sitting at a table in the rear, engrossed in a book, as usual.

Jess walked over and rudely threw a couple of menus on the table and walked away. Shane put her hand over Dean's and told him, "Take it easy, he's not worth it."

They sat there making small talk, and wondered where Jess had gone. Finally, Dean stood up and walked to the counter and asked if he was going to be served.

Luke, looked over at Dean, and in Luke's mind, Dean was some jerk who had problems with Rory.

"Wait your turn, Dean, you're not the only person in here."

Dean turned on his heel and walked back to the table. "Shane, we should go someplace else."

"No way in hell, Dean. We are not walking out of here while Rory is sitting here. It would be like she won a victory over us."

Jess came over, and sneeringly asked, "What do you want?"

Shane again put her hand over Dean's and said, "We'll take two burgers, chili fries and two Pepsi's."

Jess walked away without a word.

"Dean, take it easy, we will just make a mental note not to come here again," Shane commented.

Dean looked at Shane, "You mean we are going to go out again?"

Shane nodded and said," Dean, of course we are going out again. You're a fun date and a sweet guy."

Jess returned and more or less threw the food on the table and walked away.

"Dean, don't look, but Rory is staring at us and she does not look too happy." Then Shane looked into Dean's amazing emerald colored eyes, and quietly said, "Kiss me."

Dean kissed Shane, and felt an electric shock sweep over him that surpassed all the other kisses he'd ever shared with Rory.

They broke the kiss and noticed the diner was silent. A couple of the customers were looking at them, and then looking at Rory. Shane looked over at Rory, too, and giggled.

Shane and Dean finished their food and Jess came over and looked at Dean and said, "Well, what do you and your skank want for dessert?"

Dean jumped up from his chair, knocking the table over, and grabbed Jess by the shirt and smashed him in the face, bloodying his nose, and continued hitting him before he threw him on the floor and warned him, "If you ever call my girlfriend a skank again, I'll break your neck, you little punk!"

Rory was standing in the back of the room, looking at Dean and then looking at Jess, she was in shock.

Luke rushed up to Dean and grabbed him and Dean shrugged him off. "Take your hands off of me - I'm out of here!" He then reached in his wallet and threw a twenty on the floor and walked out with Shane.

They walked quietly for a while. Shane saw a bench and said, "Let's sit. I want to talk to you."

They sat, and she turned to Dean, and looked into his eyes. "Tell me the truth, Dean, did you hit him on account of me? Or was it your anger toward him taking Rory away?"

Dean, without hesitation, replied, "I lost it when he called you a skank. Shane, I have been falling in love with you. This love feels different than what I felt for Rory. With her, I was always on edge, always afraid to make a mistake. With you, I feel calm, I relax and enjoy myself with you, Shane."

Shane just reached over and kissed him, "Take me home, boyfriend."

Dean remembered what happened when he said 'I love you' to Rory and realized Shane did not say it back to him either, so he had to know if she felt the same way about him as he did about her. Dean took her hands into his and quietly said, "Do you love me, Shane?"

Shane laughed that golden laugh of hers. "Dean, when you told me you were falling love with me, and I said 'take me home boyfriend,' I thought you understood. Yes, of course I love you. I have loved you for awhile now. Dean this just feels so right. I am proud to be your girlfriend."

Dean bent down and kissed her, "And I am proud to be your boyfriend, Shane."

A couple of months late, Dean answered his door and saw a very unhappy Rory standing there.

"Dean we need to talk," she said, sounding urgent and full of regret.

"What about Rory?"

"I made a mistake with Jess. He is unreliable, surly and self centered. I _really_ miss you."

Dean simply replied, "Okay," almost sounding sympathetic.

"Dean, are you going to stop blocking the door and let me in?" Rory asked impatiently.

The door opened further and Rory saw Shane standing there.

Rory covered her mouth with her hand and looked surprised.

"Rory, I am going to tell this to you one time and one time only. Dean is _my_ boyfriend. I love him in a way you're not capable of doing. You had your chance, and basically you shit on him. You took probably the kindest, most caring person I have ever known and threw him away. How dare you come here to his house and try and get him back after how you treated him. Haven't your spies around town told you we are going out, and he is my boyfriend? Who in the hell do you think you are waltzing over here expecting him to dump me and take up with you again?"

Dean, seeing that Shane was really getting worked up, stood in front of her, and said to Rory, "You need to leave, Rory, you're out of line and embarrassing yourself. Please don't come back here anymore."


	3. Chapter 3

**** Never Judge a Book By Its Cover ***

**- Chapter Three -**

_**Fifteen years later…**_

**Rory Gilmore **graduated from Yale and achieved her dream of being a journalist. She also married the heir to the Huntzberger Publishing empire, Logan Huntzberger. Rory became acclaimed for her reporting and writing and she and her husband, Logan, moved to a 25 room mansion in Brentwood, California. Rory had no children. Rory was also known as the wife of one of the biggest playboys in the United States, well known for his penchant for blonde starlets. Rory spends most of her time alone in the Huntzberger mansion.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Shane and Dean **broke up after high school, but reunited three years later when they ran into each other at a football game. She was a cheer leader for the University of Connecticut and Dean was a tight end for the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT.

One year after they graduated, Shane and Dean were married in a very simple ceremony. They have two children. Dean has just assumed command of his first ship. Shane became an accountant, and is known for writing funny little cartoons depicting the life of her, and the children while Dean was at sea. Dean treasures every one of them, and is having them bound into a book, to present to Shane as a gift on their 20th wedding anniversary!

**Sixteen years later**

Rory was at her desk, when the office boy came by and told her she was wanted in Mr Evans office. Rory sighed it hadn't been a good year for her. She finally had the courage to divorce Logan Huntzburger. Rory was tired of his philandering and excuses. The ironic thing about the divorce was that all him, and his family wanted to know was how much money she wanted. Rory kept telling them nothing she just wanted to be free from the living hell of living with Logan.

Mr Evans was the editor of the Los Angles Times. He heard the knocking at his door and beckoned Rory to enter.

"Gilmore, I have an out of town assignment for you. How would you like to fly up to San Francisco?"

"Sure, and what do you want me to do up there?"

"I want you to interview the captain of the Coast Guard Cutter Bear. He is presently tied up in Alameda"

"Why do you want me to interview the captain?"

"He interdicted a major cocaine shipment at sea, also the commanding officer is somewhat of a cowboy, very aggressive a rising star in the Coast Guard." I have compiled information on him and the ship, "

Rory was excited, this is just what she needed. Get out of town for a few days. Do a good interview and write a good story.

Rory met the car the paper sent to take her to the airport. They had her ticket, car reservations, hotel reservations, and a large envelope, which Rory figured would be the information on the captain and the ship.

After Rory had went through all the check in procedures and boarded her plane, she of course asked for some coffee, and sat back to read the background information. The first set of papers gave a history of the ship. She thought it was quite interesting. Rory had no idea the Coast Guard did all the things listed there. She also had no idea that in time of war the Coast Guard becomes part of the Navy.

Rory opened the envelope with the back ground information packed on the commanding officer. She turned white, Staring at her on the first page was a picture of Commander Dean Forester USCG. Rory started shaking, She could not do this interview. She briefly wondered if she could get the plane to turn around.

Upon landing in San Francisco, Rory called her editor and tried to beg off the assignment. She told Mr Evans that she felt she could not write an objective story and someone else would be more suited. Upon being pressed on why she could not do an objective story, Rory stammered and could not really come up with a excuse. Evans told her to get a grip do the story

Rory drove to the Coast Guard station in Alameda, showed her identification and the gate sentry checked it against a list of expected visitors. Once she was cleared they showed her where cutter was tied up..

Rory parked where the pier sentry told her to. She then walked toward the ship with a growing nagging fear in her stomach. Rory approached the gangway and walked up. She stepped off the gangway and told the quarter deck watch she was here to interview Dean.

Rory noticed that the two men at the brow looked at her like she was nuts and one of them had his hand over his holster.

"Dean Ma'am, we have no Dean on this ship."

Rory stuttered and said' I am a reporter from the Los Angles Times and I am here to interview the Captain, Isn't his name Dean?"

The petty officer of the watch said "Do you want to interview Commander Forester? He is the Captain of this ship?"

"Yes please." Rory looked around and noticed she had gathered a crowd of sailors looking at her like she was some sort of alien. The CDO (command duty officer) was called. He looked at Rory's identification. "Oh yes you are expected". He then motioned to the messenger to take Ms Gilmore to the Captain's Cabin. "She is expected."

The young sailor positioned himself in back of her and told her where to turn. The first thing that stuck Rory when she entered the ship was the smell of machine oil. It was not unpleasant, just different. She also noticed the smell of something cooking. She was directed down a long corridor, which she remembered from her notes was called a passageway, then up a steep stairway, which she remembered was called a ladder. She noticed that the young coastguard man waited till she was on top before he nimbly ran up the ladder. Rory blushed a bit when she realized why, she was silently grateful for his consideration. The next time she went on board a ship she would make sure she wore slacks,

The messenger of the watch knocked on the captain's door.

"Enter" was barked

The messenger opened the door and let Rory step into the cabin.

The captain was seated at a table looking at some papers. Rory noticed that Dean had not changed all that much. His hair was getting gray around the temples, he was tanned, and and lines were appearing in his face. She was almost sick to her stomach standing there.

Dean looked up He looked at Rory standing in front of him. The years were kind to her. Even at 37 she still had that youthful look and could easily pass for someone in their late twenties. He was startled, but hid it.

Dean stood up, "Mrs Huntzburger, please have a seat"

Rory sat down and just looked at him. She could not get a word out.

Dean looked at her. Why was she so quiet, she was a reporter here to ask him questions.

"Mrs Huntzburger how is your family?"

The Mrs Huntzburger was killing her. "Captain, Dean, or what should I call you, you know me, please call me by my name.

Dean smiled and said okay "Rory how is your family?"

"They are okay, can I call you Dean?"

'Sure"

"Pardon me for a moment Rory," Dean picked up a phone and shortly a sailor arrived with a pot of coffee and two cups.

Rory gratefully accepted the coffee, and took several small sips, and placed the cup down, "Dean I am no longer Mrs Huntzburger. I divorced him over a year ago."

"I am sorry to hear that Rory."

"Don't be he was a cheating sneak."

"Dean I was supposed to read your biography on the plane, but when I saw your picture I sort of went blank."

"Rory ask away, this is supposed to be an interview."

"I know, but I am supposed to ask you about running all over the ocean catching drug smugglers."

"I have time Rory, ask what you need for your interview."

"Dean did you know it was going to be me who was going to do the interview?"

"No, I am sure the XO left me something on it, that I did not read. I may have declined if I knew it was you."

Rory was taken aback and hurt "why Dean?"

"Because we know each other, we have a past. I don't know how objective you would be."

"It would have been the same if Paris was a reporter, I most likely would have declined the interview for those reasons, but you are here, so lets do it."

Rory picked up the bio sheet she had on Capt Forester, "It says you are married and have two children. "Who did you marry Dean?"

Dean looked at her and said "I married Shane."

"But I thought you two broke up after high school."

"We did, but we got together three years later and got married a year after that."

"Why did you break up?"

"Rory that has nothing to do with why you are here"

Rory was taken aback," I am sorry."

Dean looked at her for a moment. "If you really want to know it was over school, she felt that she would hold me back when I was accepted to the Coast Guard Academy. Shane did not think either one of us needed a long distance relationship at the time. Luckily we ran into each other at a football game three years later, and we started dating again."

Rory could not believe that he had married Shane. She figured Shane was just a rebound girl from her, and Dean's relationship.

Rory kept the rest of the interview on the subject on hand. Capturing drug smugglers and why he was so good at it.

When the interview was over, Rory looked at the man before her. He was everything Logan wasn't He was loyal, brave, had integrity, and above all he was a man who loved his family. She envied Shane.

She looked at Dean and softly said, " Dean do you ever wonder what would have happened if we never broke up?"

Dean looked over at her fully knowing where she was going with that statement, "Why do you say that Rory"

"I don't know, I just thought we would have made a great couple."

Dean sat quietly for a moment, "Maybe we would have, but I am glad we did break up, for if we didn't I would have never married Shane, Shane is the right woman for me, and I would not have had two wonderful children with Shane." I guess you did me a big favor Rory."

For some reason that statement was like a dagger to her heart.

Dean noticed that she was on the verge of tears. "Rory you are still a young beautiful woman, There is a right guy out there for you. This time look deeper into the man, don't be taken in by flash and smooth talking., or what your grandparents think of him."

"Rory I have to get going, I will escort you to the quarterdeck."

Rory walked in front of him to the quarterdeck, when they reached it she thought about asking him out for lunch the next day, She looked at his tall frame, she did miss the floppy hair he no longer had. . Rory was going to reach out to hug him, but. decided that hugging this dignified man on the deck of his ship would not be very professional.

Rory Shook his hand and walked down the gangway, upon stepping on the pier she turned to walk to her car. The walk took forever. Her lip was trembling, she felt so lonely. Upon reaching her car she let herself in, and rested her arms over the steering wheel, put her head down and cried uncontrollably.

Rory felt strong arms go around her, lifting her out of her car. She was picked up and sat in the seat of a pickup truck. The seat belt was fastened around her, she looked up to protest and saw it was Dean, and she felt safe, and fell asleep.

She awoke and saw she was in a driveway. Dean was talking to a very attractive blonde woman. They approached the truck and Dean reached in and easily picked her up and carried her into the house, walked down a hallway and laid her on a bed.

The blonde woman came in placed a cup of tea on the night stand and helped her out of her clothes and into a gown. She held the tea to Rory's lips as Rory sipped at it. The blonde woman told her to lie down and rest.

The next morning Rory awoke to sunshine streaming into her room, she heard children, she was confused. How did she get here?

The house quieted down and the blonde woman came in to check on her. She saw that Rory was awake.

"How are you feeling this morning?"

Rory sat up "How did I get here, where is Dean?"

"Dean is at work" she said gently

Rory wits were rapidly coming back. "Oh you must be Shane, I remember you."

'The one and only, Grab the robe over there and come on out to the kitchen I have some breakfast for you."

Rory walked out to the cheerful kitchen and sat at the table. There was a grapefruit, toast and a poached egg. Rory looked up at Shane, "What happened?"

The pier sentry went back to the ship and told the watch that you were slumped over the wheel. Dean knew it was you, and went out to see what was up. When he saw it was you, he got his truck and brought you here."

"Why"

"Dean told me that you had interviewed him and you looked exhausted. He figured you had collapsed from exhaustion."

"What else was he going to do with you, call an ambulance? We knew you. So we thought it best to bring you here."

"But Shane, I would think you and Dean would hate me."

"We don't hate you Rory" Shane said softly."Dean told me somewhat of what your life has been., No one deserves that."

"Rory, Dean, and I are having a wonderful life. You are someone from our hometown, someone from our past. Helping you is the right and only thing to do."

Rory sat there quietly. Then raised her gaze to Shane's eyes, "Thank you"

The phone rang and Shane went to answer it. She laughed a bit, a girlish giggle one would not expect from a woman her age. More conversation and Shane agreeing with something. Shane hung up and returned to the table. "That was Dean, He wanted me to ask you to stay for dinner, and he would make sure your car would be delivered to the house, You can stay here till you need to go to the airport tomorrow."

Dinner was so much more relaxed then Rory had expected. Never once did they bring up the conflicts they had as teenagers. They talked about the nuttiness of Stars Hollow and the various characters that inhabited the place.

Rory actually enjoyed the dinner. She also realized that she was with two people who were deeply in love. She could not believe at how gracious they were to her.

After the children went to bed, Rory attempted to apologize to them for the things she did to them.

They brushed her apologies aside and told her that was the past, This was the present.

The next morning as she was leaving Shane told her to call any time she was in the area. Then Shane walked her out to her car and gave her a little hug, "Seriously call, Dean does have a couple of single good looking officers working for him," and she winked at Rory.

Rory drove away and for the first time in years she felt at peace and happy.


End file.
